PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — As we emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, travel is becoming popular again — but how safe is it throughout the world?
The numbers are unreliable — and, in many cases, just estimates — so it's hard to say how many people around the world have been vaccinated. According to several sources, the percentage of people in the world who are fully vaccinated is about 5% to 10%.
So even if we take the low number for achieving herd immunity — which is 70% — we are still a long way from eradicating COVID-19 and a long way from seeing the death rate decline in many parts of the world.
This is very important as we begin to travel and as people travel from other parts of the world. Clearly, if a person is fully vaccinated, there is a great degree of protection, but the virus will seize any opportunity to spread and mutate.
Scientists need to stay one step ahead of the virus as we prepare for booster shots, and there must be a concerted effort to get vaccines distributed throughout the world.
KYW Newsradio's Medical Reports are sponsored by Independence Blue Cross.
